Madam Speaker, I rise today to address a deadly epidemic that is facing our planet today--tuberculosis. We have learned that no country, no matter how advanced its health infrastructure, is no longer immune from tuberculosis (TB).
Fortunately, through the generosity of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and leadership in the U.S. Congress, we can make a major difference in developing urgently needed tools to fight this problem. On September 18, the Gates Foundation announced new funding in the fight to stop TB by granting $280 million to several organizations creating new tools to curb this disease, including the largest single award to any research or product development organization--$200 million to the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, which is located in my congressional district.
Those who live in the developing countries know this disease every day. This global epidemic has confronted us in several ways in the last few months. The case of the airline passenger infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis reminded Americans how vulnerable we all are to a disease we thought was a problem of the past or an affliction just affecting the developing world. In this truly global world, diseases such as tuberculosis know no boundaries.
The statistics are staggering. TB kills 1.6 million people per year, or 4,400 every single day. It is the largest killer worldwide of women of reproductive age and of people with HIV/AIDS. TB bacilli are in the bodies of one out of every three people in the world today. This devastating disease is challenging the best health systems and is threatening the lives of thousands in the developing world.
But Congress is not sitting still in the face of such troubling events. Just recently, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee reported out the Stop TB Now Act of 2007, which commits this country to a new recognition of the threat of TB and a larger effort to finally rid this planet of this scourge. And the House provides $313 million for global TB efforts in its FY 2008 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.
These efforts follow the bold, innovative, heartfelt, and committed leadership of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As important as the Gates Foundation's latest $280 million investment in tuberculosis is, it is not enough. A new vaccine candidate must go through large and expensive clinical trials, involving thousands of people and costing over hundreds of millions of dollars.
Private philanthropy cannot be the only solution to this important challenge. It is only right that the United States government, and other donor governments, step up to the plate and finish the job.
Vaccines are the key to ending epidemics. They are among the most medically and economically effective health interventions available. The United States already funds research to develop much-needed vaccines for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other global diseases. Funding TB vaccine development is a logical and humanitarian next step for us to take. European donors are already contributing to this fight; for example, the government of the Netherlands has made a sizable commitment of approximately $25 million to the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation for vaccine development. The United States should shoulder our fair share of this important shared mission.
I urge my colleagues to appropriate the necessary resources to complete this vital work and follow the outstanding leadership demonstrated by the Gates Foundation's generous investment in TB research.